Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

As you may have heard in the news, Kenya has been experiencing catastrophic rains. Mudslides, flooding, and washed out roads occurred in parts of the country. Fortunately, our community has not experienced the devastation that other regions have, but it has affected school openings. As schools have been closed, our staff has sprung into action to offer additional enrichment activities at our Learning Resource Center and the Library Learning Center. 

Just imagine children seeing a 3D printer in action! This week, 20 students attended a training on 3D printing and learning about the applications of 3D printing. They brainstormed ideas for future applications and how they could create new products. Mentor Maureen led the class which included an introduction to tinkercad, a software used for 3D design. These future innovators are learning about and preparing to try 3D printing first hand!

Simultaneously, students are creating in the Makerspace and making cool toys out of cast-off items. Toilet paper tubes, plastic bottles, corks, and bottle caps are terrific materials. These students are having fun creating in safe space.

Upstairs from our Makerspace is the library. With schools closed, children are coming to the library to read. We have books for all ages including adults! The only library for over 100 miles, students, teachers, and parents are able to experience the joy, wonder, and knowledge of books. To hear how our library and Literacy Programs are making a difference, listen to our fourth podcast in the Voices from Our Village series! 

Thanks to donors like you, we are able to keep our doors open when schools are closed. During the planned school break we offered computer boot camps, makerspace activities and leadership programs. When the school break closing was extended due to the rains, we were able to pivot quickly to meet the needs of our community and through offering an array of learning activities! We are grateful for your support. Your generosity means we can respond quickly to provide hands-on learning for our community, especially during challenging events.

Warm regards,

It's tough being a girl in rural Kenya. Even though education is open and encouraged, if families do not have enough money for school fees, it's often the girls that stay home. Girls also struggle during their monthly menstruation. The lack of sanitary pads, access to water for washing, and menstrual health information sidelines girls from school. This results in many girls missing 4-5 days of school per month. Some girls, desperate to be in school, exchange sex for pads or use dried leaves and rags to manage the flow. It's not a good situation.

In 2017, Kenya Connect created and introduced "Wings Poa" locally made Reusable Sanitary Pad Kits. These kits, made by village women, are comfortable to use and last 1 to 2 years. The women who make the kits earn income to pay school fees and to feed their families. The Wings Poa kits are distributed for free in our partner schools to girls in upper primary and secondary school. When the kits are distributed, the girls learn how to use the kits and how to clean the liners and shields. In addition, the Kenya Connect staff creates a "safe space" for them to ask questions about their periods and puberty. Questions like, "How do I manage cramps?," What happens if I get more than 1 period per month?" and "What is the best way to track my period?" are often asked. Our staff provides factual information including how to track periods using a menstrual calendar.

Since 2017, we have distributed over 1500 kits. This year we have a BIG goal is to distribute 1000 more! Head Teachers and teachers said that providing kits has made a difference in girls' attendance in school and helped them feel more comfortable during their monthly cycle.

During the April 8-12 GlobalGiving Little by Little Campaign, all donations will go to support the Wings Poa program. Your gift will help us purchase the fabric, including PUL water resistant material, to create the kits and provide funds to pay women to sew the kits. It's really a double impact donation that helps both women and girls! All donations under $50 will be matched 50% so if you make a gift of $20, we receive $30 which produces close to 5 kits or a $50 gift gives us $75 which produces almost 12 kits! Just think, for a gift of $20 you can help provide a sanitary pad kit to 6 girls.

Thank you for being a supporter of Kenya Connect. Your donations have helped us strengthen education through our dynamic educational programs for students and teachers, while breaking down barriers to education through programs like Wings Poa (which means cool wings in Swahili).